A Chance Encounter with Luan (4)
“Was Kirine the one who told you all of you in advance about the question I was going to ask?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Only me.”
“She didn’t tell Oppa.”
The king couldn’t hide his discomfort and stammered. “How did that even happen? I’ll have to talk to Kirine.”
“What do you plan to say?”
“That, well……”
Luan pierced straight into the king’s heart. The situation where his mother favored him and treated me like an outsider. Yet anyone with a conscience knew the mother loved Luan far more than me. The king had been married to her for a long time. He couldn’t possibly not know. After a long moment of hesitation, the king let out a heavy sigh and decided to end it. “Ugh… Let it go for now.”
“Please explain it properly. It would be terrible if Oppa and I became enemies.”
My eyebrows twitched involuntarily. Just as Luan had said. In my previous life, Luan and I had become sworn enemies, and nothing good had come from it. The king nodded. “Fine. But even if the princess heard the question early, none of them were dangerous ones. In other words, the princess already had her answers ready?”
“I could have answered those easy questions even without hearing them beforehand.”
“Then answer me. In exchange, I’ll give the prince time to think after hearing the princess’s answers.”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
I said that, but I had already sorted out my thoughts from hearing the same question in my previous life. If Luan hadn’t interrupted, I would have answered right away. Since things had gone this far, I decided to add a few more details. Luan spoke cheerfully. “The most important role of a king is to fulfill his duties. He must govern the country harmoniously and protect the citizens’ lives from outside threats. The nation exists because of the king, not the other way around.”
“Well said. But it’s a bit too idealistic. A good answer, yet compared to how early you heard the question, it lacks depth.”
Luan pouted again at the king’s criticism. “But Father, I’m only eleven this year. How can you praise me for thinking at my age?”
Luan grumbled with a displeased face, and the king found it adorable and laughed heartily. “Indeed. Even I started going to the battlefield with the late king from a young age, but I didn’t gain that level of insight as early as you did, Princess. Then let’s hear the next question. What is the most important thing for a king……”
From then on, everything went exactly as in my previous life. The king asked the same questions he had asked before, and Luan answered the same way. If I hadn’t moved, things would have continued as they did. It was time to take action. “Did your sister’s words help?”
“It helped a lot. It’s hard to believe that Luan is four years younger than me.”
Luan’s eyes widened in surprise at my praise. “Really, Oppa?”
“Of course. How could I lie to the King in front of everyone?”
Luan blushed under my sincere praise and giggled. “This is strange.”
The king couldn’t process what was happening and crossed his arms. “What on earth happened today? How did you two suddenly become so close? Prince, you said something like that to me last time, didn’t you?”
“What do you mean?”
“You told me that Princess kept clinging to you, right?”
“Oppa, that’s not true, is it?”
A piercing glare landed on both of us. But it was true. At that time, Luan had been clinging to me constantly, and I had been pushing her away every chance I got. “I definitely said that.”
Luan’s eyes filled with tears. The plan had worked perfectly. “But not anymore.”
“Not anymore?”
“Yes. My thinking was too short-sighted. I knew the queen loves Luan more than me. Part of it was that I didn’t hear the question the king was going to ask today. So I pushed her away. When I pushed Luan away……”
The more important the words, the more emotional they became, the more I had to slow down. A momentary pause made my tone even more sincere. “It was jealousy. Very pointless.”
“Oppa……”
“Even if the queen doesn’t love me as much, she has never not treated me like her son. Besides.”
And the truly important line. “The order of succession in the Solea Kingdom is still above Luan. The biggest proof that I’m not being slighted.”
As I said this, I locked eyes with the king. He didn’t nod, but he didn’t shake his head either. It meant he implicitly accepted that my succession was above Luan’s. With this alone, I had achieved everything I wanted from this meeting. It was time to smile kindly and conclude. In fact, the result had been satisfactory. “Haha, and Luan only does nice things for me. How could I hate her? Besides, Luan told me about the question the queen gave her when she came here.”
Luan smiled brightly. The king nodded, satisfied with the smile. “This is good. Very desirable. Then, back to the main topic. What do you think is the king’s role?”
“The king must not have anyone above him except the gods.”
“What does that mean?”
I closed my eyes and stayed silent for a moment. The king urged me to explain. “Explain what you mean.”
“Before I explain, I need you to promise me one thing.”
“What promise?”
“Everything I say from now on is just my opinion. Please listen with one ear and let it flow out with the other.”
“I’ll do that.”
The king nodded calmly. “Then I’ll speak.”
He probably thought my words weren’t important. But they were. “If this continues, the Reichland Empire will soon swallow our Solea.”
* * *
“It’s done. Go rest now.”
“Thank you. Then we’ll be going.”
As soon as the king allowed it, Luan quickly covered her open mouth and let out a yawn. Luan had been bored waiting in front the whole time while the king and I talked. Luan stood up to greet the king, but she stumbled because she couldn’t fight off her sleepiness. Her body was tired, but her eyes were half-closed. “Tsk, I should call a servant to take the princess to her room.”
The king clicked his tongue in disappointment, but Luan shook her head. “Is that okay? You look really tired.”
“I’ll carry you, Oppa.”
“You want to do that? Then please take care of the princess.”
“I’ll gladly follow your command.”
I gently took the hand Luan had already extended and left the room. The moment the door closed, a heavy sigh escaped from behind the door. “Luan, you worked hard.”
“I didn’t work that hard… Oppa worked the most. I just sat there.”
Luan answered with maximum effort even though drowsiness was dripping from her voice. “Can you walk?”
“……”
No answer this time. Luan’s grip on my hand was weakening, showing she was truly exhausted. “It can’t be helped. Luan.”
I let go of her hand, and Luan’s eyes snapped open. I turned my back to Luan. “Get on.”
“Ugh, Oppa is so heavy……”
“You’re light for your age.”
At that moment, a guard tried to intervene. “Your Highness, shall I call a servant?”
“No. I want to carry my sister with my own strength. Luan, hurry. Jump!”
Luan hesitated, but after I kept encouraging her, she finally climbed onto my back. Luan was much lighter than I had expected. I had returned to fifteen, but Luan felt even younger, four years my junior. ‘Luan said we would become enemies and nothing good would come from it. But I……’
I had made my declaration in front of the king and Luan. The succession order in the Solea Kingdom was still above Luan’s. When the king didn’t nod or shake his head, it was implicit acceptance. Even during the later discussion about the Reichland Empire, the king focused entirely on me, completely ignoring that Luan’s eyes were drooping. I had politically suppressed my sister. The moment she said we would become enemies, I liked her. Against a sister who liked me this much, even if she had been my mortal enemy in the previous life, nothing had happened yet. Maybe…… I didn’t need to make my sister my enemy from the start. She was still just a small, light child. ‘Have I already become a bad big brother? At least not like in the previous life.’
As I walked to Luan’s room carrying her on my back, I felt Luan’s breathing grow calmer and more steady. It was fortunate that carrying her didn’t bother me. “Oppa……”
“What is it?”
Luan called me in a sleepy voice. “Was there something bad…… that happened?”
I stopped in my tracks. The moment I had faced death in my previous life flashed through my mind, but I clenched my teeth and took another step. “I like Oppa. Oppa, and Luan……”
Luan’s body went limp on my back. She had fallen completely asleep. I could guess what words Luan had wanted to say but hadn’t finished. If I hadn’t guessed, my heart wouldn’t have been this heavy. ‘Yes, something bad happened. You tried to take my life and even trap my soul, and I cursed you……’